Wide varieties of swing rides exist in the field of amusement rides that have many different swinging characteristics. Some of these rides use large hydraulic and electric motors operating through sophisticated gear and cable systems to facilitate an artificial swinging or tumbling action. Others use similar mechanisms to raise the riders to a position to be released, relying upon gravity and the weight of the riders to be transported through a pendulum type of swinging ride. This style of ride relies upon the natural decreasing swinging of the riders to bring them to a position where they can be stopped and removed to start another ride sequence. Still others use cables in combination with bungee or elastic cords to achieve a bouncing element into the swinging of the riders. In general, large amusement thrill rides use large hydraulic and electric motors operating through sophisticated gear and cable systems to produce a variety of articulating movements.
This invention describes a new and unique pneumatically actuated swing ride. This inventor, being an expert in the field of extreme amusement thrill rides, has learned through experience that safety of the ride is the most important aspect of any thrill ride. With all the safety requirements of the ride fulfilled, the next important item is to give the riders a new and exciting unique ride. With the pneumatically actuated swing ride the inventor has achieved his goal by creating a swing ride that operates on rigid swing members that raise the riders up and then accelerates them down in the pendulum style of swinging movement through an arc as many times as desired. The controlled upward movement, a brief delay, and the accelerated downward movement produce weightlessness in the ride that is unmatched in the industry. When riders are released to have just the effect of gravity for the swinging action, they do not have the feeling of weightlessness and the ride is progressively slower for each swing cycle.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,989,127 of William Joel Ketchen et al. describes an amusement ride including a tower that pivotably supports an elongated boom that includes an extended end and a pivot. A passenger carriage is pivotably attached to the extended end of the boom. The shorter end of the boom includes a moveable counterweight that is operable for raising the boom. The boom is then locked, the counterweight is moved, and the boom is released to swing freely. The movable counterweight includes first and second storage tanks, a counterweight fluid, and at least one pump for moving the counterweight fluid between the first and second storage tanks. Passengers are loaded into the passenger carriage when the boom is in the down position. The boom is then raised by moving the counterweight fluid into the first storage tank. After the boom is raised, a brake is set to lock the boom in the raised position, and the counterweight fluid is moved into the second storage tank. The operator then lowers the boom by releasing the brake. The boom swings through approximately 270-degrees, and the passenger carriage may make a 360-degree loop at the end of the first swing.
This patent describes an amusement ride including a tower that pivotably supports an elongated boom. It has a high degree of sophisticated machinery and apparatus on the elevated levels of the device, which make it extremely difficult to maintain. The ride produces only a variety of swinging movements and does not give the prolonged feeling of weightlessness.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,842,928 of Henry J. McGinnis describes an amusement ride that provides a very large swing. The ride has a tower with two spaced apart legs connected at the upper ends by a cross-member. A boom extends perpendicular to the cross-member at the upper end of the tower. A swing line is secured to one end of the boom and has a harness at its lower end. A carriage rolls on a track along the lower side of the boom. The carriage has an engagement member, which will engage the swing line and cause it to take up toward the opposite end of the boom, lifting the passenger. Once the passenger is at the desired elevation, the engagement member releases the swing line, allowing the passenger to swing between the legs of the tower.
This patent describes an amusement ride that provides a very large swing. There are many varieties of this style of ride, some called sky coasters. They achieve great elevations and are very exciting to ride, but when released from their initial elevated position, the riders go through a progressively decreasing pendulum motion until the ride is over. Again, this device does not give a complete feeling of weightlessness.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,649,866 of C. Grant Balwanz describes an amusement ride system that includes a chair assembly within which an occupant is seated during the course of a ride and first, second and third upstanding towers fixedly secured to the ground in a spaced and triangular relationship. A first pair of bungee cords are joined to one side of the chair assembly and have ends which extend toward the upper portion of the first tower, and a second pair of bungee cords are joined to the opposite side of the chair assembly and have ends which extend toward the upper portion of the second tower and a windable cable which is joined to each of the extending ends of the first and second pair of bungee cords for tensioning the bungee cords to a stretched condition. A pull cable is releasably joined to the back of the chair assembly for tensioning the pull cable by way of the upper portion of the third tower as the bungee cords are being pulled to the stretched condition so the chair assembly is lifted from the ground by the bungee cords and the pull cable to a position adjacent the upper portion of the third tower. By releasing the cable from the back of the chair assembly when the chair assembly is positioned adjacent the upper portion of the third tower as aforedescribed, the first and second pairs of bungee cords are permitted to throw the chair assembly along a substantially horizontal path extending from the third tower and between the first and second towers.
This patent describes another amusement ride that provides a very large swing with the addition of the bungee cords. The ride also can achieve great elevations and some degree of weightlessness as the bungee reaches uppermost position, but again goes through a progressively decreasing motion until the ride is over. The duration of the ride cannot be controlled and there again this device does not give a repeated feeling of weightlessness derived by the pneumatically actuated swing ride.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,188,566 of Karl Bohme describes The passenger gondola of a looping swing suspended in pendulum fashion on motor-driven outriggers that has parallel rows of passenger seats that are disposed parallel to the axis of rotation of the outriggers and to the axis of swing of the passenger gondola. Here, the head rests of the passenger seats are a short distance from the axis of swing in order to hold the acceleration forces acting on the passengers, which occur with looping over of the passenger gondola.
Preferably, the position of the passenger gondola relative to the outriggers is locked at a particular angular position. The ride activity is then operated such that the gondola locks in the tilted, forward direction of rotation, and locking is released at about the top dead center point of outrigger rotation, so that the passenger gondola executes a loop on the outriggers overtaking it.
This patent describes a gondola of a looping swing suspended in pendulum fashion on motor-driven outriggers that has parallel rows of passenger seats. This ride, most commonly found in carnivals and fairs, represents the highly sophisticated mechanical rides that can be transported to different locations. These rides handle a large number of people for a controlled time and are not commonly found permanently anchored to the ground. They do not normally reach elevations greater than thirty feet.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,267,906 of William J. Ketchen et al. describes a ride that is capable of raising a rider to a height of thirty feet or more above the ground, and then releasing the rider to swing. It includes a support structure, a support line secured to the support structure at one end, with an opposed end secured to a rider, preferably to an attachment, which is worn by a rider. A launch structure is spaced from the support structure and carries a launch line which has an end capable of being raised and lowered above the ground, and which is designed to be releasably attached to the rider attachment to lift a rider from the ground. A release device is located between the launch line and the rider attachment. In operation, the rider attachment with the support line attached is secured to the rider, the launch line is releasably secured to the attachment, and the launch line is activated to move the rider laterally and upwardly towards the top of the launch structure. When the launch line is released from the attachment, which carries the rider, the rider swings downwardly at a high speed simulating the sensation of “body flight” in a pendulum like motion until slowing to a speed at which he or she may remove the attachment. In an alternative mode of operation, the rider may be lifted up the launch structure, and the support line secured to the rider, with the rider then swinging off the launch structure.
This patent describes a ride that is capable of raising a rider to a height of thirty feet or more above the ground, and then releasing the rider to swing. This is still another swing ride where the riders go through a progressively decreasing pendulum motion until the ride is over, and does not give a complete feeling of weightlessness.
None of the foregoing prior art teaches or suggests the particular unique features of the pneumatically actuated swing ride and thus this clarifies the need for further improvements and refinements in the field of thrill rides used in theme parks, fairs and family fun centers.
In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangement of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. In addition, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.